Thank you to those of you were able to join April’s Fair Democracy Huddle! The meeting focused on primary elections and featured a special guest State Senator Louis Blessing III. The next Huddle is on Wednesday, May 13 at 6pm. We’ll focus on attacks on direct democracy and what we can do to fight back, RSVP here.

Types of Primaries 

• State Primary Election Types, National Conference of State Legislatures, February 25, 2026
• Unite America statement on California’s current primary
• Better Choices for Ohio 

Research Brief: Primary Voters Elect Most of Congress. They’re Not Like Most Americans. Unite America Institute 

• Only two out of Ohio’s 15 US House seats are considered genuinely competitive this year- or 13% (Cook Political, OH 9, OH 1)
• Nationally it’s 8.7% of US House seats that are considered competitive- 38 seats (25 years ago it was 80 seats, 10 years before that it was 140)
• Only 23% of Ohioans live in competitive Ohio State House districts (Brennan, 2024)

Senator Blessing’s proposals: 

• Senate Bill 382
• Senate Bill 395

Closed Primary proposal: 

• House Bill 320 sponsored by Beth Lear and Gary Click 

Carey’s GOP primary challenger booted from race, SCOTUS appeal filed, Dispatch, April 7, 2026

• Major political parties– candidate for governor or nominees for presidential electors got at least 20% of the vote in the last state elections
• Minor political parties– petition process (1% of gubernatorial or presidential vote + 500 signatures in half the congressional districts) and then to retain status for 4 years, their candidate for governor or president must receive at least 3% of the vote  

The Ohio Libertarian Party has had to fight for access to the ballot including signature challenges and burdensome signature requirements.  In 2017, the Ohio Supreme Court determined that the LPO didn’t garner access to the ballot simply by getting more than 3% of the vote. On July 2, 2024, the Libertarian Party of Ohio filed 87K signatures to get on the November ballot.